Lastings Milledge, of, White Sox: Milledge is still just 26, so we could still see the former Mets prospect back in the big leagues with a shot to rebuild his career. But for now, he’s having to prove himself again at Triple-A Charlotte. He did his share this week, hitting .367/.387/.800. If nothing else, Milledge illustrates how tough it is to be a righthanded corner outfielder in the big leagues. He has hit .287/.361/.432 against lefties in his career, which likely would have been enough to keep him in the majors. But his .261/.314/.378 career numbers against righthanders (in more than twice as many plate appearances) have been the difference between a long big league career and plenty of trips on the Triple-A-major league shuttle.

A few years ago, John Levesque, sports columnist for the now defunct Seattle Post-Intelligencer, tried to answer that question when he wrote, “When it comes to imparting knowledge and teaching the principles of hitting, big-league hitting coaches really don’t do much of either…

“Even if they tried to teach hitting, they’d run into a solid wall of resistance from self-centered, supremely focused athletes who’ve made it this far on talent and ability and aren’t about to change their swings for anyone, even if he’s got street cred in Cooperstown.”

Former Minnesota Twins hitting coach Rob Ellis, who wrote a book with Hall of Fame slugger Mike Schmidt about hitting, took things a step further.

Ellis told Levesque, “There’s very little solid instruction going on [at the major league level]. The hitting coach tends to be a PR guy, a hitter’s best friend, a security blanket, a go-to guy for salve on his wounds, a friendly guy who’s a little bit psychologist and a little bit con man…

“I never met one truly effective hitting coach. The system is not set up to teach hitting.” …

Mike Marjama, a 23rd-round pick by the Chicago White Sox, signed before the deadline and has been assigned to Bristol in the Appalachian League. Marjama considered returning for his senior season after he was drafted later than anticipated and played for Orleans in the Cape Cod League before he and Chicago came to an agreement.

ESPN’s Stats & Information Group broke down its pitch performance data and looked at strikeouts by pitch type, compared to the number of two-strike pitches thrown with that particular pitch. A good “putaway rate” with a pitch is upwards of 30 percent. The major league average for all pitches is just below 20 percent. In Santos’ case, he’s thrown the slider 101 times with two strikes this season and netted 47 strikeouts, most recently whiffing Royals rookie Mike Moustakas in the ninth inning on Monday. Santos’ “putaway rate” with the slider is 47 percent (47 divided by 101). …

Cuban defector signed to $ 10 million contract in 2008. Hitting .322/.364/.528 with 15 homers, 20 walks, 65 strikeouts in 335 at-bats for Triple-A Charlotte. Power to all fields, should produce a solid batting average with plenty of homers despite so-so strike zone judgment. Poor defender at any position and likely a born DH, but he’ll hit. Age 22. Major League ETA: 2011.

Johnson has a big, 6-foot-2, 240-pound frame and sometimes has trouble maintaining his mechanics. His delivery can get a little rigid and he loses his arm slot at times, though he’s been better about getting it back than he was last year. Johnson is quick to the plate and sits in the 90-94 mph range with his fastball and tops out at 95. His best secondary offering is a hard slider that he can throw for strikes or use as a wipeout pitch and he also mixes in a slow, show-me curveball and a changeup that is inconsistent, but shows flashes of being a quality pitch. Johnson sometimes tries to be too fine with his fastball instead of trusting that he can overpower hitters with it. While he needs to sharpen his fastball command, Johnson has shown a good enough feel for pitching to get by and go deep into games without it.

Johnson is ranked 97th on the Baseball America prospect list and 74th on the Perfect Game list, which would put him on the bottom fringes of the supplemental round or in the second. However, he has the power arm (90-95 MPH fastball, good slider) to go somewhere in the middle of the supplemental round for a team that believes they can refine his mechanics and polish his changeup.

Johnson is ranked 97th on the Baseball America prospect list and 74th on the Perfect Game list, which would put him on the bottom fringes of the supplemental round or in the second. However, he has the power arm (90-95 MPH fastball, good slider) to go somewhere in the middle of the supplemental round for a team that believes they can refine his mechanics and polish his changeup.

Johnson isn’t a more talked about draft prospect because of his mechanical issues, which have seen him suffer through bouts of wildness (37 walks in 83.2 IP). He began his college career as a reliever, which tinkered with his mechanics a bit, and now that he’s back in a starting role, he’s struggled to go deep into games.He does, however, feature pretty good velocity, topping out at about 95-96 mph. He complements his fastball with a very good slider. He also throws a curveball and a changeup, the latter of which has made solid strides throughout the course of the season.

Like many Major League clubs, the White Sox seem interested in the Braves’ wealth of young pitching talent. But those fans hoping this means outfielder Carlos Quentin could be headed to Atlanta should be prepared for disappointment.

White Sox advance scout Bill Scherrer was at Turner Field for this past weekend’s series against the Orioles and he stuck around for this week’s series against the Rockies. Given the White Sox and Orioles will not meet again until Aug. 8, Scherrer has likely focused most of his attention toward the Braves’ pitchers.

While the Braves might be in the market for an outfielder, their primary focus will likely not be aimed toward corner outfielders like Quentin. Instead they will continue to evaluate what Jordan Schafer can provide in the leadoff spot and determine whether they need to increase their efforts to find a proven leadoff hitter like the White Sox have in Juan Pierre.

Pierre has batted .261 with a .322 on-base percentage and been successful with just 12 of his 22 stolen base attempts. In other words, he hasn’t been the same guy who was successful with 68 of 86 stolen base attempts last year. But since May 1, he has hit .270 with a .340 on-base percentage and been successful with seven of his 10 stolen base attempts.

Take him. Take him immediately! Of course, we won’t be getting a pitcher in return for Juan Pierre. Much less one with about 1 year of MLB service time and outstanding numbers. A couple slabs of barbeque ribs will be enough for the return.

AJ Pierzynski: I’m not what people think I am, for one thing. A lot of people think I’m a rough-and-tough and mean person. I’m just a normal guy who likes to have fun and is lucky enough to play baseball for a living.

DL: Where does that perception come from?

AJP: From all of the stuff people have written and said about me. And that’s fine. It’s not a bad perception to have on the field. But off the field I’m just a normal guy. I’d like people to know that.

DL: How do opposing players view you?

AJP: People have said that they don’t like playing against me, but that’s just because I try to win. I want to win. I play as hard as I can and I’ll do anything I can to help my team win that day. Sometimes that frustrates people. I’m not the first one to run out and give hugs to guys, and things like that. My job is to try to win and be friends away from the game. …

The White Sox finalized their deal with top draft pick Keenyn Walker on Tuesday, signing him to a $795,000 bonus. The 47th overall selection, Walker had Tweeted (via @Keenyn_Walker) six days earlier that he had agreed to terms. His bonus exceeds MLB’s $739,800 recommendation for his draft slot. …

Walker was drafted in the 16th round out of high school in Utah in 2009 and last year at Central Arizona, in the 38th round. Scouts have always been intrigued by the 6-foot-3 switch-hitter with standout tools and impressive athleticism. The raw tools don’t always translate on the baseball field, however, and he didn’t even start regularly last year. This year is a different story. Walker has performed well with wood and he should get more than the $250,000 he reportedly turned down out of high school. Walker has more power from the right side, but his lefthanded swing is more pure. He’s mostly a gap hitter with above-average speed, so he profiles as a good defensive center fielder. He has the speed to hit at the top of the order, but needs to cut down on his strikeouts. If he doesn’t sign, Walker will head to Utah.

Keenyn Walker, OF, Central Arizona Junior College: The blazing fast, 80-speed Walker showed greatly improved hitting skills this spring, and in some draft classes would be rated a first-rounder. The deep nature of this class, plus the fact that junior college players get less attention than high school or four-year college players, pushes Walker back to second or third round slots for most. However, someone in love with his athleticism could easily choose him in the supplemental.

Keenyn Walker, OF, Central Arizona CC: Bats Both, 6-3, 185. Drafted by the Cubs in the 16th round in 2009 but didn’t sign. Toolsy, athletic, very fast, some power potential, has strikeout issues and is still rather raw, but toolsy enough to go on first day. Committed to Utah if he doesn’t sign. Hitting .421/.513/.622 with 28 walks, 35 strikeouts in 164 at-bats, 49 steals in 52 attempts.

Good athletic body, Plus run, nice arm, tools are there, looked good at PG National, good at AC, bat needs to come on

and the June 2008 scouting report:

Keenyn Walker is a 2009 OF/P with a 6’1”, 185 lb. frame from Salt Lake City, UT who attends Judge Memorial. Keenyn is a lean well put together very athletic player with fluid actions in the outfield. His throws carry well in the outfield with arm strenth. He is a switch hitter at the plate with a line drive swing plane. He showed a bit better from the left side and has good extension in his swing. He stays inside the baseball and uses all fields. He projects very large with added strength and is a very good, 6.53 sixty. Walker is extremely athletic and he could skyrocket up the charts by next year.

“Keenyn is a kid that we’ve scouted extensively,” White Sox director of amateur scouting Doug Laumann said. “He plays in a competitive junior college program in Arizona. He’s been very successful. He is a high ceiling athlete. Unlike some high ceiling athletes, this kid really has a feel for playing the game.”

Laumann projected Walker to be two and a half years away from making it to the major leagues if he progresses at an ideal pace. He compared the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Walker to Devon White and Carlos Beltran.

Walker has decent patience at the plate as he led his team in walks this year with 36 (16.8 BB% (BB/AB)), which, combined with his speed, gives him potential as a top of the order hitter, but in order to reach that potential he will need to watch the strikeouts, which have been a problem for him. Walker struck out 45 times this year (21% K% (SO/AB)), which again led his team.